Introduction 1
About This Book 1
Foolish Assumptions 3
Icons Used in This Book 3
Beyond This Book 4
Where to Go from Here 4
Part 1: Understanding the Carbohydrate Controversy 5
Chapter 1: Mapping Out a Low-Carb Diet 7
How Low Is Low Carb? That’s the Question 8
Defining a low-carb diet: Not as easy as you’d think 8
Clarifying what this low-carb diet is about 9
Figuring out whether low-carb eating is right for you 13
Discovering Whole Foods 13
Living the Low-Carb Way 13
Beyond the Scale: Identifying Other Factors for Overall Health 14
Exercise and low-carb dieting: Your partners in fitness 15
Exploring vitamins and supplements 15
Maintaining Your Low-Carb Lifestyle 16
Making the commitment 16
Planning ahead 16
Picking yourself up when you fall 16
Chapter 2: Delving Deeper into Carbohydrates 17
Evaluating the Controversy 17
The low-fat, high-carb diet 19
The low-carb, high-protein diet 20
Deconstructing the Typical (Bad) Diet 21
Eating more refined sugars 22
Eating more salty snacks 22
Eating more fast foods 23
Eating larger portion sizes 24
Eating more calories 24
Getting a lower percentage of calories from fat 25
Eating fewer fruits and vegetables 25
Eating fewer whole grains 26
Looking at the Nation’s Health 26
Obesity 27
Diabetes 27
Metabolic syndrome 27
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease or non-alcoholic steatohepatitis 27
Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) 28
Heart disease 28
High blood pressure 28
Inflammatory disease 28
Arthritis and related conditions 29
Cancer 29
Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) 29
Determining Whether Low-Carb Dieting Is Dangerous 29
Evaluating limits on carbs 30
Getting Back to Basics: The Whole Foods Weight Loss Eating Plan 31
Unveiling the plan 31
Knowing who can benefit from the plan 34
Chapter 3: All Carbs Aren’t Equal: Looking at the Differences 35
Understanding Carbohydrates 36
Identifying the sugar connection 36
What carbs give you beyond nutrition 37
Discovering How Carbs Affect Your Blood Sugar Levels 40
Understanding Refined and Processed Carbs 40
Replacing the Food Pyramid with a Healthy Eating Plate 41
Going Low-Carb without Going Extreme 43
Chapter 4: Determining Whether Low-Carb Eating Is Right for You 45
What’s Your Story? Assessing Your Personal Health Risks 46
Playing detective: Uncovering your family medical history 46
Figuring out how your age is affecting your health 47
Looking at your body mass index 49
Identifying your diabetes risk 51
Recognizing the silent syndrome 53
Understanding lipids 53
Spotting early problems with blood pressure 55
Understanding the relationships between ethnicity and health risks 56
Be Honest! Examining Your Current Diet and Lifestyle 56
Paying attention to what you eat 57
Determining your level of activity 60
Discovering the effects of stress 61
Deciding Whether a Low-Carb Diet Can Help 63
Part 2: Steering Yourself Back to Whole Foods 65
Chapter 5: Falling in Love with Whole Foods 67
Green-Light Foods: Identifying Foods You Can Eat without Thinking Twice 68
Exploring the Free Carbs: Fruits and Vegetables 69
Making fruit choices — fresh is best 70
Eating your veggies, the superstars 73
Indulging in Free Proteins 80
Meat and cheese choices 81
Seafood 84
Making Meals from Whole-Food Choices 86
Letting Green Light Foods Satisfy Your Appetite 86
Chapter 6: Navigating Your Way through Starchy Carbs 89
Yellow Light: Putting Starchy Carbs on Cruise Control 90
Controlling Portion Sizes 91
Breads 91
Cereals, grains, and pasta 92
Vegetables and fruit 94
Dried beans, peas, and lentils 96
Crackers and snacks 97
Choosing the Best, Leaving the Rest 99
Low-glycemic-load carbs 100
High-glycemic-load carbs 100
Putting the Brakes on Refined Carbs 101
Trading off your carb choices for an occasional treat 102
Paying attention to sugar 103
Avoiding the urge to exceed your daily allowance 103
Evaluating Low-Calorie Sweeteners 104
Use in moderation 104
Use with caution 105
Fitting in Your Daily Dietary Fiber 107
Current dietary fiber guidelines 107
Putting It on the Menu: The Daily Plan 109
Chapter 7: Shifting into Dairy Foods 111
Understanding the Benefits of Dairy Foods 111
Got milk? Got nutrients 112
Calcium: It’s everywhere! 113
Getting Enough Calcium 119
Considering Dairy Alternatives 122
Almond milk 122
Cashew milk 123
Coconut milk 123
Hemp milk 124
Macadamia milk 124
Oat milk 124
Quinoa milk 125
Rice milk 125
Soy milk 126
Chapter 8: Fueling Up with Fats: Good Fats, Bad Fats 127
Recognizing How Fat Helps Your Body 128
Regulating body processes 128
Providing energy 128
Storing it up 128
Understanding the Different Kinds of Fat 128
Saturated fats 129
Monounsaturated fats 132
Polyunsaturated fats 132
Knowing How Much Fat Is Enough 134
Including More Healthy Fat in Your Diet 136
Improving Your Ratio of Good Fats to Bad Fats 137
Part 3: Shopping and Cooking for A Low-Carb Lifestyle 139
Chapter 9: Navigating the Supermarket 141
Understanding Supermarket Psychology 142
Knowing Supermarket Layout and Design 143
Patrolling the perimeter 144
Eyeing the endcaps 144
Hitting at eye level 144
Targeting your child 144
Anticipating traffic jams 144
Seducing you with signs 144
Heading into the holidays 145
Luring you with free samples 145
Grooving to the music 145
Steering Your Cart toward the Healthy Foods 145
Making Good Use of New Features 146
Focusing Only on the Healthy Foods in the Aisles 148
Deciphering Food Labels 150
Understanding the ingredient panel 150
Discovering the Nutrition Facts label 151
Considering labels on the Whole Foods Weight Loss Eating Plan 152
Chapter 10: Planning Menus and Meals 153
Planning Menus Ahead 154
Failing to plan is planning to fail 154
Developing your food-plan strategy 154
Scheduling for special occasions 156
Getting Organized 157
Maintaining grocery lists 158
Creating a snack list 159
Ensuring Breakfast Is Quick and Easy 160
Waking up fresh and healthy 162
Grab-and-go breakfasts 163
Making Power Lunches 164
Noontime fuel 165
Brown-bag bounty or working at home 166
Putting Together Satisfying Suppers 168
Evening nourishment 169
Company’s coming 170
Snacking the Good-Carb Way 171
Chapter 11: Starting the Day with Breakfast 173
Creating Some Egg-cellent Choices 174
Using a Carb Choice for Breakfast 180
Chapter 12: Perfect for Lunch: Soups and Salads 187
Making Hearty Soups 188
Tossing Together Healthy Salads and Easy Dressings 194
Chapter 13: Fixing Low-Carb Finger Food: Appetizers and Snacks 203
Starting with Some Tasty Low-Carb Appetizers 204
Feeling the Snack Itch? Feed It with These Low-Carb Snacks 215
Whipping Up Low-Carb Spreads and Salsas for Snacking 223
Chapter 14: Making Some Main Dish Mainstays 231
Beyond Fish Sticks: Your Green-Light Guide to Seafood 232
Cooking Chicken, Beef, and Pork Entrees 238
Going Meatless: Vegetarian Options 251
Chapter 15: Adding Side Dishes to Your Meal 257
Pairing Veggie Side Dishes to Your Low-Carb Meals 258
Getting Some Natural Sweetness — Including Fruit Side Dishes 273
Chapter 16: No Sacrifices Made: Tasty Desserts and Refreshing Beverages 279
Ending Your Meal on a Sweet Note: Low-Carb Desserts 280
Drinking Your Way in a Low-Carb Diet 294
Part 4: Sticking to the Plan 299
Chapter 17: Eating Out without Apologies 301
Making Smart Choices in Restaurants 302
Studying the menu in advance 302
Assessing portion sizes 304
Splitting entrees 304
Reducing liquid calories 305
Knowing how to order 305
Making Sensible Fast-Food Selections 306
Pizza restaurants 306
Burger joints 306
Buffet-style restaurants 307
Evaluating Carry-Out Options 308
Eating on the road or in the air 308
Smart eating on the go 308
Seeing How Ethnic Foods Stack Up 309
Chinese 309
Greek/Mediterranean 310
Indian 310
Italian 311
Mexican 311
Thai/Vietnamese 312
Chapter 18: Psyching Yourself Up 313
Preparing Your Mind 313
Analyzing Your Eating: Mindful or Mindless? 314
Visualizing Your Success 315
Recognizing Your Level of Commitment 315
Ignorance isn’t always bliss: The pre-contemplation stage 316
So how does this work, anyway? The contemplation stage 317
How do I do it? The preparation stage 317
Practice makes perfect: The action stage 318
Creating a habit: The maintenance stage 318
Making it permanent: The termination stage 319
Taking It Up a Notch: Moving from One Level of Commitment to the Next 319
Rallying Support 320
Chapter 19: Setting Yourself Up to Succeed 323
Identifying Your Trigger Foods 324
Stocking the Fridge 325
Filling the Freezer 326
Organizing the Cupboards and Pantry 327
Oils and vinegars 327
Marinated foods 327
Canned and jarred foods 328
Grains 329
Snacks 329
Seasonings 329
Paying Attention to Safety 330
Chapter 20: Falling Off the Wagon and Getting On Again 333
Forgiving Yourself 333
Analyzing the Fall 334
Planning alternative defenses 335
Conquering stress 336
Attitude 336
Organization 337
Self-control 337
Planning 337
Self-care 338
Renewing Your Commitment 339
Breaking the Cycle of Failure 339
Part 5: Recognizing Factors other than Food 341
Chapter 21: Taking Supplements When Food May Not Be Enough 343
Looking First at Food 344
Investigating Supplements 344
Vitamins 345
Minerals 345
Antioxidants 345
Herbs 346
Establishing Your Needs 347
Avoiding excesses 347
Knowing how much is too much 348
Determining if you need more 350
Navigating the Sea of Supplements 352
Chapter 22: Setting a Fitness Goal 355
Establishing Realistic Expectations 356
Accepting your size 356
Understanding genetics and their effect on your body shape 357
Setting Benchmarks beyond the Scale 357
More energy 359
Better sleep 359
Improved mood 359
More self-confidence 360
Getting Up and Moving 360
Knowing how much exercise is enough 361
Using fitness trackers 362
Accumulating exercise and letting it add up 362
Walking your way to fitness 363
Fitness for Life: It’s Never Too Late 364
Changing your attitude 365
Altering what you eat 365
Modifying your workouts 366
Part 6: The Part of Tens 367
Chapter 23: Ten Benefits of Low-Carb Dieting 369
Improved Glucose Control 369
Better Appetite Control 370
Improved Concentration 370
Weight Maintenance 370
Improved Blood Pressure 370
Improved Cholesterol 371
Improved Sleep 371
More Energy 371
Better Mood 372
More Self-Confidence 372
Chapter 24: Ten Questions about Low-Carb Dieting 373
Do I Count the Carbohydrate in Fruits and Vegetables? 373
Can I Use Dried Beans and Peas as Meat Substitutes? 374
How Do I Follow a Lower-Carbohydrate Diet If I’m a Vegetarian? 374
What If I Just Eat Green Light Foods? 374
Do I Need to Take a Supplement? 374
How Much Weight Can I Expect to Lose? 375
Is a Low-Carb Diet Safe for Kids? 375
What Can I Keep in the House for When I’m in a Hurry? 375
How Do I Control Cravings? 376
What Do I Do When I Just Can’t Keep to the Five Carbohydrate Choices per Day? 376
Chapter 25: Ten (Plus Two) Best Sources of Dietary Antioxidants 377
Berries 378
Broccoli 378
Garlic 378
Green Tea 379
Tomatoes 379
Corn 379
Bell Peppers 380
Spinach 380
Cherries 380
Peaches 381
Dark Chocolate 381
Red Grapes 381
Part 7: Appendixes 383
Appendix A: The Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load of Foods 385
What Is the Glycemic Index? 386
What Is the Glycemic Load? 386
What Alters the Glycemic Value of a Food? 387
Why Are Glycemic Values Important? 387
Where Can I Get More Information? 388
Appendix B: Sample Grocery List 389
Green Light Fruits 389
Green Light Vegetables 391
Green Light Proteins 393
Dairy Foods 397
Yellow Light Carbs 397
Other Elements of a Low-Carb Lifestyle 400
Appendix C: Dietary Reference Intakes 401
Vitamins and Minerals 401
Carbohydrate, Protein, and Fat 403
Sugar 404
Dietary Fiber 404
Appendix D: Metric Conversion Guide 405
Index 409
